I wanted to clean out my veggie drawer and thought about tossing a bunch of lightly sautéed summer-fresh veggies with some whole wheat pasta. It turned out that I had some shrimp on hand too, so this recipe came about as a way to combine all these flavors and still come up with something fresh and bright tasting.
It couldn’t be simpler! You just chop the herbs and veggies, sauté some bacon and then cook the veggies and shrimp in the same pan. Then add the pasta and liquid, and finish with fresh herbs, lemon and parmesan cheese. I lightened it up by using low sodium, fat free chicken broth, center cut (lower fat) bacon, whole wheat pasta and just a touch of olive oil, but you can be more indulgent if you want! This dish is good hot or room temperature and fancy enough for company, yet economical, easy and quick enough for a mid-week supper. You can omit the bacon if you prefer and just use a bit more olive oil, and you can also substitute whatever fresh summer veggies you like or have on hand. Be creative!
Lemony Shrimp Pasta with Summer Veggies
Ingredients
6 pieces of center cut (lower fat) bacon
1 small Vidalia (or other sweet) onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, seeded and diced
1 lb. Large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 box whole wheat or multi-grain pasta – spaghetti or angel hair is best
1 cup green peas (fresh preferred, but frozen is fine)
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Article comments
1 - Andrew
I could almost imagine the flavors when I read the 2nd paragraph. But am a little curious with adding of the lemon and stuff.
Would love to give this a try and probably change some stuff :D Thanks for sharing.
2 - daphnespoon
Give it a try - the lemon really brightens up the flavors and makes it feel like a summer dish. I use more of the zest than the juice and that way, you get the great lemon flavor without so much acidity. If you have a device that cuts tiny strips of lemon peel (as I do), that is even better than the zest. As always, you should be as creative as you want and feel free to change out any of the herbs, veggies or proteins to accommodate your personal tastes. All of my recipes are really just inspirations or a palette for you to paint on :-) Have fun!